Fever
by steampunkqueen2489
Summary: a new deadly illness appears in Virginia City. As the citizens of Virginia City discuss putting the city in quarantine, tragedy strikes on the Ponderosa.
1. Chapter 1

-Part 1-

"Hey, Adam." Hoss greeted his older brother as he walked into the ranch-house. But, as the rest of the Cartwrights took a second look at Adam, they could tell something was going on. His face was solemn, and there was a look in his eyes that told them something was troubling him.

"Adam, what's wrong?" Abbie said, immediately standing and walking over to him, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Adam, what's going on?" Ben asked.

"Something bad is happening in Virginia City." Adam said.

"What are you talking about, Adam?" Joe asked.

"There's some kind of illness going around in Virginia City. They're talking about putting the city into quarantine. This illness is serious. The doctor said five people have died from it already. I saw a couple people that were sick in the doctor's office. The doctor said there's nothing he can do for it. You have to let it run it's course, if the fever doesn't kill you first." Adam said.

"An illness?" Abbie asked.

"Has anyone survived it?" Sarah asked.

"Three people have lived through it so far." Adam said.

"So, then, it is possible to survive it." Sarah said.

"Possible, but not likely. Three people survived. FIve died." Adam answered.

"I don't like those odds very much." Joe said.

"Adam, were you exposed to it?" Abbie asked.

"I don't know. The doctor doesn't know how it's spread." Adam said.

"You mean, you may get sick?" Abbie said.

"Maybe. Maybe not." Adam said.

"Adam..." Abbie said, looking at him, her grey eyes full of concern.

"Listen, Abbie. I don't want you going into town. Alright?" Adam said.

"Adam, you probably already brought it back to all of us." Joe said.

"Joseph." Ben said sternly, looking at his youngest son.

"Sorry, pa." Joe said.

"Now, let's all just calm down. Just 'cause Adam was in town doesn't mean any of us are gonna get sick." Hoss said.

"It's true. There are different ways for illnesses to be spread. Each illness is different." Sarah said.

"We may be able to wait it out if we stay away from town as much as possible." Ben said.

A few days later, Abbie woke to a pounding in her head. She flinched, groaning and putting her hand on her forehead. She sat up, looking over at Adam, who was still asleep beside her. She didn't want to wake him. She thought that maybe if she splashed some water on her face, she would feel better. She stood up, still leaning on the bed. She took a few steps away from the bed before she felt a wave of heat come over her. She fell to the ground, knocking over a chair on the way down. The sound of the chair hitting the floor woke Adam, who saw Abbie laying on the floor. He immediately got up and ran over to her.

"Abbie. Abbie." he said, trying to shake her awake. She looked pale, and her face was moist with sweat. He felt her forehead, which was extremely hot.

"Abbie. Come on, Abbie. Wake up. Look at me." Adam said, stroking her blond hair. Abbie coughed and opened her grey eyes, weakly looking up at Adam.

"Adam." she said, "What happened? It's so warm in here." She blinked weakly up at him, and grabbed his arm.

"Abbie. Hang on. Let me get you into bed. You'll be alright." Adam said. She closed her eyes again. He lifted her up. She was limp, almost like dead weight, and it scared him.

"Pa!" he yelled for Ben as he carried Abbie over to the bed and layed her down gently on it. A moment later, Ben was in the doorway.

"Pa, get a doctor. It's Abbie. She's sick." Adam said. Ben looked at his daughter-in-law. She was laying there in bed, eyes closed, breathing labored, and her skin moist with sweat.

"I'll ride into town and get the doctor." Ben said, and he hurriedly left the room. Abbie weakly squeezed Adam's hand, and opened her eyes again, looking up at him.

"Don't worry, Abbie. I'm not going to go anywhere. I'm staying right here with you. I promise. You're going to be alright. Pa went into town to get the doctor." Adam said, holding her hand firmly as he sat down on the bed, "This is my fault. I'm going to try to fix this, Abbie." He touched her face gently, and it scared him how warm she was. Abbie reached her hand up and touched Adam's cheek with her fingertips.

"It's not your fault, Adam. Even if you hadn't gone into town, someone would have eventually ended up coming here and exposing us to the sickness." she said. Just then, Hoss and Sarah appeared in the doorway.

"Dad burn it, Adam, what's goin' on? We heard you yellin' and I saw pa ride off mighty fast." Hoss said as he and Sarah entered the room.

"Abbie is sick. Pa rode into town to get the doctor." Adam said.

"Sick?" Hoss asked. One look at her told them that Adam was right. She was sick, very sick. Hoss was by far no expert on these things, but even he could see that she looked bad, though he would never say so to Adam. Hoss knew he was worried already, and he didn't want to worry him more. Sarah walked over to the bed and placed a hand on Abbie's forehead.

"She has a really high fever, Adam. We need to do something to get her fever down as much as possible." Sarah said, "We need to keep her cool. We need to get a cold cloth to put on her forehead."

"I'll go get it." Hoss said, going to get a washcloth. He wet it with cold water and gave it to Sarah. Sarah placed the cold washcloth on Abbie's forehead. Just then, Ben came in the front door with the doctor, who was a short old man. They walked up the stairs and into the room. The doctor checked over Abbie.

"There's not much I can do for her, Mr. Cartwright." he said, "Like I said, we don't even know what this illness is. All I can tell you is to try and keep her fever down as much as possible. It was a good idea, putting the cold cloth on her forehead. Keep doing that as much as possible."

"That was Sarah's idea." Hoss said, smiling.

"Well, you're a smart young lady." the doctor said. Sarah smiled politely at him.

"Thank you. My father was a doctor. I learned some things from him." she said.

"Another thing I can tell you is to make sure she drinks as much water as possible. She could easily become dehydrated." the doctor said.

"Thank you, doctor." Adam said.

"You know, I'm surprised all this noise ain't done woke Little Joe up." Hoss said. For some reason, this comment sat wrong with Ben.

"Hoss, will you go check on your brother?" he asked.

"Yeah, sure, pa. But, you know Little Joe. He ain't the earliest riser. He's probably fine." Hoss said before leaving the room. A few moments later, Hoss came back into the room, a serious look on his face, an odd thing for the usually happy-go-lucky Hoss.

"Pa, you might want to come here and have the doc look at Little Joe." Hoss said.

"Why? What's wrong?" Ben asked.

"I tried to wake Joe up three times. I tried yellin' at him, shakin' him, I tried everything, pa. He just now finally opened his eyes, just barely, though." Hoss said. Ben walked out of the room with the doctor and Hoss following behind him.

"Adam, stay here with Abbie. She needs you right now." Sarah said before following the others.

"Abbie." Adam said softly, touching her cheek, "You have to fight this. I know you're strong. You have to pull through this. I... I need you to pull through this."

Meanwhile, the others rushed into Joe's room. He was laying in bed, his eyes closed, his face soaked with sweat. He looked like he was struggling to breathe. The doctor checked Joe over and determined that he also was suffering from the mysterious.

"Like I said, the only thing really to do is to try and keep the fever down and let it run it's course." the doctor said.

"Thank you, doctor." Ben said.

"If you'll excuse me, Mr. Cartwright, I have a lot of patients to tend to back in Virginia City." the doctor said before taking his leave.

"Of course." Ben said. Sarah left the room for a moment and returned with a cold washcloth.

"I brought a cold cloth for his head." she said.

"Thank you, Sarah." Ben said, "I'll take care of Joe."

"Ben, if you don't mind me saying, you'll worry yourself too much. I'll tend to Little Joe. I have experience and knowledge when it comes to taking care of sick people." Sarah said.

"Sarah, I can't let you do that. I know how darn dedicated you are, and you'll wear yourself plum down to nothing. I'll take care of Little Joe. He's my little brother. It's my job more 'an yours." Hoss said.

"Alright, Hoss. Just make sure to take care of yourself, too, alright." Sarah said, kissing his cheek before she and Ben left the room.


	2. Chapter 2

-Part 2-

For the next couple of days, it continued that way. Abbie and Joe remained about the same under Adam's and Hoss' s care.

"Adam." Ben said, walking into the room.

"Oh. Hey, pa." Adam said.

"How is she?" Ben asked.

"About the same. Sometimes she'll wake up and try to talk to me, but, she goes back out again just as quickly." Adam said.

"Adam, you have to get some sleep. You haven't slept since she got sick." Ben said.

"Pa, she needs me right now." Adam said.

"Adam, you're of no use to her if you wear yourself down. I'll take care of Abbie for a little while." Ben said.

"Alright. Yeah, you're right, pa. At least let me sleep here next to her." Adam said. Ben sighed.

"Alright. But, get some sleep, son." Ben said before leaving the room. Adam sighed, lying down next to Abbie on the bed. He stroked her blonde hair and kissed her on the head.

"Come on, Abbie." he said softly, "I know you can do this." As tired as he was, it didn't take long for him to drift off to sleep.

Abbie's blue eyes slowly fluttered open. She could see that she was in her room, in her bed. She felt as if she had just awoken from a deep sleep, the deepest she had ever been in. Her body felt heavy, and it took almost all of her energy just to move. Her body was soaked with sweat, and she was still confused as to what was going on exactly. She looked beside her and there lay Adam, fast asleep, still in his clothes, his arm draped across her body protectively. She felt him stir slightly, realizing that he must have felt her move. He opened his blue-grey eyes to look at her. He sat up quickly, staring at her.

"Abbie." he said quietly, breathing a sigh of relief.

"Adam." she said, looking at him, still confused, now even more so by his reaction, "Adam, what's going on? What's wrong?" He placed a hand on her forehead, then her cheek.

"Abbie." he said, smiling at her, "You're going to be alright." He wrapped his arms around her, hugging her tightly, more tightly than usual. She wasn't sure what was going on with him, but she wrapped her arms around him, hugging him back. Just then, Ben came into the room.

"What's going on in here?" he asked, confused as to what all the commotion was about. Adam let go of Abbie and looked at his father.

"Pa, she's alright. I think her fever has broken." Adam said. Ben looked at her, then felt her forehead.

"I think you're right, Adam." Ben said, removing his hand from her forehead, "She looks much better and she doesn't feel warm anymore."

"Fever?" Abbie asked, looking from Adam to Ben and back again.

"Abbie, don't you remember?" Adam asked.

"I... I remember falling to the floor." she said, "That's the last thing I remember."

"You were sick. That's why you fell." Ben said, "Adam stayed with you the whole time."

"Thank you, Adam." she said, looking at him with her grey eyes.

"Abbie, you don't have to thank me. I just wish I could have done more for you." Adam said.

"You said I was sick. Was it the illness you talked about, the one in Virginia City?" Abbie asked.

"Yeah. I'm afraid I could have been the one who brought it back to you. This could have been my fault." Adam said. Abbie shook her head.

"Adam, this is not your fault. Do you hear me? It would have happened eventually, whether you had gone into town or someone had come here and exposed us to it. But, don't you dare blame yourself for this." Abbie said, gently placing a hand on his face, looking him in the eyes.

"Thank you, Abbie." Adam said, placing a hand on her shoulder, "How are you feeling?"

"I feel... tired." she said.

"You should get some rest. Both of you." Ben said before leaving the room.

"Yeah, pa. We will." Adam said.

"Thanks, Ben." Abbie said. Adam layed back down on the bed, wrapping an arm around Abbie, pulling her close to him, and the two of them drifted off to sleep.

Meanwhile, Hoss walked into Little Joe's room to check on him. He was surprised to find that Joe was awake, looking right at him as he entered the room. Hoss stopped in his tracks for a moment and looked at his little brother.

"What're you staring at me like that for, Hoss? You look like you've seen a ghost." Joe said, grinning.

"Dad burn it, Little Joe. You had us us all so dad burned worried." Hoss said, walking over to him. It was then that Ben walked into the room.

"Pa, look at Little Joe. He's awake. He's gonna be fine." Hoss said, smiling. Ben smiled at the sight before him.

"It looks that way." he said. Sarah walked into the room behind Ben.

"Look, Sarah. I reckon Little Joe is gonna be just fine." Hoss said, smiling at Sarah as she walked over to them.

"It's all thanks to you, Hoss." Sarah said, smiling at him, "You took care of him while he was sick." She placed a hand gently on Hoss's arm.

"Aw, it wasn't nothin'." he said, smiling and looking to the ground.

"That Sarah, she can turn anything into a compliment for Hoss." Joe said. Ben, Sarah, and Hoss laughed.


	3. Chapter 3

**-Part 3-**

**Adam awoke the next morning to find Abbie sleeping peacefully beside him. He let out a sigh of relief at seeing how much better she seemed. She stirred slightly before opening her eyes and smiling at him. **

**"Good morning." she said, smiling at him as if nothing had ever been wrong.**

**"Abbie." he said, brushing some of her blonde hair away from her face, "I almost lost you." She could see the worry in his eyes, a rare thing for Adam. She touched her fingertips gently to his face.**

**"But, you didn't. I'm alright, Adam." she said. He sighed and kissed her lips. After they broke the kiss, he touched his forehead against hers, placing a hand gently on her cheek.**

**"Don't ever scare me like that again." he said, smiling. **

**"Alright. I'll try not to." she said, smiling back at him.**

**"I... know I don't tell you this enough, but... I love you, Abbie." he said.**

**"It's alright. I already know it. I love you, too, Adam." she said. Adam sat up and got out of bed. Abbie started to get out of bed, but Adam put his hands on her shoulders, sitting her back down.**

**"No, you're not going anywhere. You still need to rest." he said.**

**"Adam." she said.**

**"Don't give me that. You need to stay here and rest." Adam said.**

**"But, what about breakfast?" Abbie said, "Your father and brothers are probably waiting for us."**

**"I'm going to bring your breakfast up to you." Adam said.**

**"Oh, come on, Adam." she protested, "I told you, I'm fine." Adam sighed.**

**"Come on. Just humor me, alright." he said, touching her cheek. Abbie finally smiled.**

**"Alright. I'll let you wait on me. Just this once." she said.**

**"Thank you." he said, kissing her lips before leaving the room.**


	4. Chapter 4

**-Part 4-**

**"You know, it just ain't like pa to sleep in this late." Hoss said a day later as they waited for Ben to come down for breakfast. Hoss knew it was probably nothing, but he couldn't help but shake the uneasy feeling he had.**

**"Yeah, pa's usually the first one up, yelling at us to get up and get to work." Little Joe said.**

**"Well, yelling at you maybe. The rest of us don't need to be told to do our work." Abbie said, grinning. Adam smiled, trying not to laugh to himself.**

**"You know, Adam, it's good to see being sick didn't take any of that attitude out of her." Joe said sarcastically, though, even he had a small grin on his face. It wasn't that Abbie and Little Joe didn't get along, quite the opposite, actually. She thought of both Joe and Hoss as brothers to her. They just liked to tease each other as Joe, being Joe, likes to torment his siblings, and Abbie with her attitude and tendency for sarcasm. It was just how they got along.**

**"I'm gonna go check on pa." Hoss said before heading up the stairs and down the hall. A few moments later, Hoss reappeared at the top of the stairs, looking clearly upset.**

**"Hoss, what's wrong?" Sarah said, walking over to the bottom of the stairs.**

**"I think pa's real sick." Hoss said.**

**"What?" Joe said. **

**"I think pa's sick. I reckon it's the same thing you and Abbie had." Hoss said. He led Sarah down the hall to Ben's room, and the others followed behind them. Ben was laying in bed, his face pale and covered in sweat. **

**"You're right. It does seem like the same thing." Sarah said. Just then, they heard a knock on the door. **

**"I'll see who it is." Abbie said. She left the room, walked down the stairs, and opened the front door. There stood the sheriff of Virginia City.**

**"Sheriff, what brings you here?" Abbie asked.**

**"There's something I need to tell you all. Is Ben here?" the sheriff said.**

**"Ben? No, he's... he's sick." Abbie answered.**

**"Even Ben now?" the sheriff said, casting his eyes to the ground, then looking back to Abbie, "Virginia City is under quarantine."**

**"Adam mentioned there was talk about it. It was going to happen sooner or later." Abbie said. It was then that Adam walked up behind her.**

**"Abbie, who's...?" Adam started to ask, but stopped when he saw the sheriff.**

**"Adam." the sheriff said.**

**"Sheriff, what's going on? What are you doing here?" Adam asked.**

**"As I just told your fiancee here, Virginia City is under quarantine." the sheriff said.**

**"If the city is under quarantine, then why did they let you leave?" Adam asked.**

**"They didn't. They don't know I left. I plan to be back before they find out." the sheriff said. **

**"So, you risked leaving a quarantine area just to come out here and tell us about the quarantine?" Abbie said.**

**"No. That's only part of it. The doctor told me that a few people on the Ponderosa were sick with the fever." the sheriff said.**

**"That's right. Abbie and my brother, Joe were sick. Now, pa is." Adam said.**

**"Yes, your fiancee told me about Ben." the sheriff said, "Look, some of the people in Virginia City have gotten scared and desperate. Some of them have formed a mob. They're going to the houses of the people who are sick, killing them, and burning the house and the body. They're trying to get rid of the disease the only way they know how. They're not above riding out here to the Ponderosa and doing the same. I wanted to warn you."**

**"Can't you do anything to stop them?" Abbie said.**

**"I'm not saying we're not trying. I'm just saying, there's a lot of them. My deputy and I are only two men. We may not be able to stop them. I wanted you to know, so you can defend yourselves if you have to." the sheriff answered.**

**"Thank you, sheriff." Adam said.**

**"Yes, thank you. We appreciate your help." Abbie said.**

**"Your welcome. And, it's good to see you're feeling better, miss." he said, "I have to get back to Virginia City." the sheriff tipped his hat to them before getting on his horse and riding away.**

**"As if we didn't have enough problems." Abbie said. Just then, Hoss, Sarah and Joe came down the stairs to see what was going on.**

**"What's goin' on, Adam?" Hoss asked.**

**"Yeah, who was at the door?" Little Joe asked.**

**"The sheriff." Adam answered.**

**"The sheriff of Virginia City? What was he doing here?" Sarah asked.**

**"Well, apparently, Virginia City is under quarantine." Abbie said.**

**"He rode all the way out here to tell us that?" Joe asked.**

**"No. There's more." Adam said, "Apparently, some of the more desperate citizens of Virginia City have formed a mob. They're killing people who are sick and burning their houses down." **

**"What? Isn't there anything the sheriff can do?" Sarah asked. Her blue eyes were wide and her face was pale as a ghost. She was shocked, and she couldn't be more disgusted that there were people who would do that to fellow human beings who haven't done anything wrong.**

**"Apparently, the sheriff and his deputy are trying, but there are a lot of men against just the two of them." Adam said.**

**"I... can't believe people would... I think I'm going to be sick." Sarah said.**

**"There there." Hoss said, placing his large hand on her shoulder. She threw her arms around Hoss, burying her face in his broad chest.**

**"Well, somebody needs to go and stop them!" Little Joe said, heading towards the door when Adam grabbed him by the shoulder, stopping him.**

**"No, you're not, Joe. All you'll do is get yourself killed. Even with you, the sheriff, and his deputy, you're still only three men against an angry mob. You won't stand a chance." Adam said.**

**"Just because pa is sick doesn't mean you get to boss us around, Adam. Now, let go of me." Joe said, trying to break free from his oldest brother's grasp.**

**"Joe, that's not what Adam is trying to do here. He's just trying to stop you from getting yourself killed. Even with you there, it won't make a difference. There's still too many of them. Adam is just trying to protect you, Joe. Can't you see that?" Abbie said.**

**"Well, then, what are we supposed to do, just do nothing while innocent people get murdered?" Joe said, though he had calmed considerably.**

**"Right now, we have to concentrate on protecting pa and the Ponderosa." Adam said, "The sheriff came to warn us because he thinks the Ponderosa might be a target." **

**"What?" Joe said. **

**"I reckon that makes sense, what with Joe and Abbie bein' sick before, and now, pa." Hoss said. **

**"I... I'm going to go take care of Ben." Sarah said quietly before leaving the room. She didn't like violence and the whole thing made her uneasy. If she concentrated on taking care of Ben, she felt that maybe she could forget about all of the horrible things that were going on, at least for a little while.**


	5. Chapter 5

-Part 5-

A day later, Abbie was awakened at night by voices in the hallway. She recognized the voices as Hoss's and Sarah's.

"Adam." she said, shaking Adam awake. He opened his blue-grey eyes to look at her.

"Abbie." he said, sitting up, "What's wrong?" He could see on her face that she was concerned about something.

"It sounds like something is wrong. Listen. In the hallway." Abbie said. Adam could hear Hoss and Sarah talking in the hallway, and, by the tone of their voices, it did sound like something was going on. Adam got out of bed with Abbie following after him as they walked out into the hallway.

"Now, Hoss, what's going on out here? Some people are trying to sleep." Adam said. Sarah was the one that looked the most shaken.

"Sarah reckons she saw somebody outside." Hoss said.

"You don't believe me, Hoss?" Sarah asked.

"No, I do believe you, Sarah. That's just what I'm worried about." Hoss said.

"What do you mean 'somebody'?" Abbie asked, "You couldn't see who it was or what they looked like?" Sarah shook her head.

"It was dark. I couldn't sleep, so I went downstairs for a little while. I saw someone outside through the window. I think they saw me in the window because they ran." Sarah explained.

"Dad burn it, Sarah. You... you gotta be careful. What if that scoundrel would have seen you and took a shot at you?" Hoss said, placing his large hands on her shoulders.

"I'm sorry, Hoss." she said, casting her eyes downward.

"Nah, I'm sorry, Sarah. I shouldn't have snapped at ya' like that. I just... worry about ya' is all." he said.

"I know. Thanks, Hoss." she said, smiling at him.

"You don't think it was one of those men the sheriff mentioned, that formed the angry mob?" Abbie said.

"It's a high possibility. If they heard about pa, they'd be here." Adam said.

"If it was, why would there have been only one person. Wouldn't the whole group come instead of just one?" Sarah asked.

"Not if they sent just one person to scout out the situation." Abbie said.

"It makes sense that they'd come at night, when we're all asleep." Adam said.

"And take us by surprise. " Abbie said.

"I reckon they knew they'd get a fight if they came during the day." Hoss said.

"That guy will probably go back and tell the others he's been seen." Abbie said.

"Then, what? They'll leave?" Sarah asked. Adam shook his head.

"They'll probably attack the Ponderosa now while they think we're still getting ready for them." he said.

"I'll go wake up Little Joe." Hoss said before hurrying down the hall to Joe's room.

"Little Joe." he said, trying to shake his younger brother awake, "Little Joe, dad burn it, wake up!" Joe just groaned and rolled over, trying to ignore Hoss's waking him up in the middle of the night. This just made Hoss angrier, and he continued attempting to shake Joe awake.

"Dad burn it, Joe. This ain't no time to be lazy. Those fellas the sheriff was talkin' about are fixin' to attack the Ponderosa." Hoss said. Joe rolled over, opening his eyes to look up at his older brother.

"In the middle of the night?" Joe asked, blinking tiredly.

"Adam reckons they're tryin' to take us by surprise." Hoss said.

"Adam's paranoid. There's probably nothing to worry about." Joe said, preparing to roll back over and go back to sleep.

"No, Little Joe. Sarah saw somebody outside just a few minutes ago." Hoss said. Joe sat up, looking at his brother. Joe knew that if Sarah said she saw someone, then she must have, or, at least truly believed that she did. Sarah wouldn't lie, and she wouldn't play a practical joke, either. Joe got up out of bed.

"Alright. It might be at least worth checkin' out." he said. He quickly put on a shirt and followed Hoss down the hall.

Meanwhile, Adam, Abbie and Sarah headed downstairs. Adam had quickly thrown a shirt on and was buttoning it as he walked down the stairs. Abbie and Sarah were both in their nightgowns. Adam went to the gun cabinet and grabbed his pistol, and Abbie did the same.

"Abbie, you're not going out there like that." Adam said. He wasn't going to let his fiancee go out and fight an angry mob of men in her nightgown.

"Adam." she said, "I don't have to put clothes on. This is kind of an emergency situation."

"Abbie, I'm not letting you go out there like that." Adam said. Abbie sighed.

"Adam." she said.

"Excuse me, Adam, Abbie, I don't think there's time to argue right now." Sarah said, "Those men will probably be here any minute." Adam let out a frustrated sigh as he and Abbie loaded their pistols. Hoss and Little Joe came down the stairs.

"Any sign of 'em yet?" Joe asked.

"Not yet." Adam said. Hoss walked over to Sarah, placing his large hands on her shoulders.

"Now, Sarah, will you do me a favor?" he asked.

"Of course, Hoss." she said.

"Will you go upstairs and check on pa? And, you stay up there with him 'till this is all over and done." Hoss said. Sarah wasn't a violent person, and hardly ever fought or used guns, and Hoss was worried that she might get hurt. Even if she didn't join in the fight, she could still get hurt in the crossfire. Hoss was sure she would be safe upstairs in Ben's room with him. Sarah hated when Hoss was about to face danger, but, she knew that he was afraid of losing her. She knew about how he lost a woman he loved once before and how it devastated him. She didn't want that to happen to him again, especially if it happened because of something she could prevent by doing as he asked. She nodded.

"Be careful, Hoss." she said, kissing him on the cheek before hurrying upstairs. Hoss and Joe took their pistols out of the gun cabinet and loaded them while Abbie looked out the window.

"Here they come." she said. Adam and the others walked over and looked out the window as well. They could what looked like several lantern lights approaching in the distance.

"We'd better get a move on and get out there." Hoss said. The three of them stepped outside. They could see a large group of men approaching the ranch-house. The men were carrying a lantern in one hand and a weapon in the other.

"We hear your place is infected with the sickness. We came to fix that." one of the men said.

"You can try." Abbie said, glaring at him, holding her pistol up to aim at him. Hoss put his arm out and gently pushed her arms down.

"Now, just wait a minute, Miss Abbie. You just let me talk to these fellers before we all start fightin' each other." he said.

"Fine. But, they're not going to listen to you. These men are blinded by fear." she said, though she did as Hoss asked and let him speak.

"Well, that may be so. But, I reckon I still oughta try." Hoss said. He then turned to face the group of men.

"Now, you all listen here, I know you're all scared and whatever else, but, hurtin' innocent folks ain't the way to go about solvin' anything." he said.

"This is the only way to get rid of this fever for good. If we don't stop this people are going to keep dying." one of the men said.

"Not everybody dies from the fever. We got two people right here that had the fever and are just fine now." Hoss said.

"Way more people die from it than live. We can't let that keep happening." one of the men said.

"We know about Ben. We know he has the fever." another one of the men said, "This is the only way."

"Now, listen, dad burn it..." Hoss started to say, but was cut short when one of the men fired a shot at him. The shot missed, and Hoss, Joe, Adam, and Abbie took that opportunity to get behind something for cover. More of the men started firing shots.

"Looks like your talk really got to them." Joe said sarcastically, earning an irritated look from Hoss. The Cartwrights and the men exchanged shots for a few minutes when a couple of the men tried to sneak up behind them. One of them started fist fighting with Hoss, which eventually ended in the man being knocked out cold on the ground. One of them tried to grab hold of Abbie, but she picked up a nearby shovel and knocked him out cold. Unfortunately, one of the bullets from one of the men who were still shooting grazed Abbie's upper arm.

"Agh." she said, dropping the shovel and holding onto her arm where she had been shot.

"Abbie." Adam said, hurrying over to her. Joe and Hoss continued shooting at the men.

"Abbie." he said, gently taking hold of her injured arm, "Let me see your arm."

"I'm fine, Adam. It's just in the arm. The bullet just grazed me." she said.

"Abbie, you're bleeding." he said. It was true. Though, the bullet didn't lodge in her arm, it left a fairly deep wound when it grazed her, and she was bleeding pretty steadily. Just then, they heard a booming voice from the ranch-house.

"STOP."

They looked in the direction of the voice and saw Ben standing in the doorway with Sarah following close behind him. The men, as well as the Cartwrights, stopped firing their guns and looked at Ben.

"Ben?" one of the men said in surprise, "We heard you had the fever. What are you doing out here?"

"I _did_ have the fever. But, now, I'm healthy again. But, all of you were ready and willing to kill me and my family." Ben said, approaching the men.

"We... we're just trying to keep people from dying from the fever." one of the men said.

"So, you'll kill them instead. Is that it?" Ben said, "Not everyone who gets the fever dies. I didn't, Joe didn't, and Abbie didn't. And, some others in town didn't, either. But, if you had your way, you'd have killed them, innocent people. And, I'm betting, some of those people you killed would have lived, too. You're not controlling anything. What you're doing is murder." Ben said. The men were all silent for a few moments, contemplating what Ben had said.

"You're right. I never saw it that way, but you're right. What we're doing is murder. It ain't right." one of the men said.

"Yeah, we should be helping each other, not killing each other." another one of the men said.

"We're sorry, Ben." another said. The rest of them nodded in agreement before all of the men left the Ponderosa. Ben and Sarah turned their attention to their family, and noticed Abbie's arm.

"What happened?" Ben asked.

"She got shot." Adam said.

"Shot?" Sarah said, "Oh, Abbie, you take too many risks."

"It's fine. The bullet just grazed me." Abbie insisted. Though the wound didn't look extremely serious, there was a decent amount of blood.

"Get her inside." Ben said.

"Come on, Abbie." Adam said, putting an arm around her, leading her inside as the others followed them.

"Sit down." Ben told her. She took a seat on the couch with Adam sitting beside her.

"Somebody should go into town and get the doctor." Adam said.

"Wait a minute, Adam. Let me look at it." Sarah said.

"What?" Adam said, "Why?"

"My father was a doctor, remember? I told you before, he taught me some things." Sarah answered.

"It's alright, Adam. I trust her." Abbie said. It wasn't that Adam didn't trust Sarah. She was a smart girl, and she definitely meant well. It's just that he would have felt better having an actual doctor treat it. Adam hesitantly agreed and Abbie showed Sarah her wound.

"It doesn't look like the bullet is lodged inside. It did just graze you." Sarah said as she examined the wound.

"See, I told you all it was fine." Abbie said.

"But, the wound is a little deep. It's bleeding pretty steadily." Sarah said, "It will need to be sewn up."

"So, we do need to get the doctor." Joe said. Sarah smiled and shook her head.

"I can do it. I've seen my father do it many times, and I've even done it before." she said.

"I'm impressed." Joe said. Hoss got a huge smile on his face.

"Yup. That's my girl. She's just so dad burned smart." he said. Adam, however, still wasn't sure it was a good idea.

"Don't give me that look, Adam. I know what I'm doing. As I said, I've done this before. It's one of the simplest things to do." Sarah said.

"Alright. Fine." Adam finally said. Hoss turned his attention to Ben.

"Pa, I know you're feelin' better and all, but, I think you should probably be gettin' to bed. Don't wanna overdo it." Hoss said. Ben smiled.

"Well, it looks like everything's being taken care of here, so, alright, Hoss, I'll get to bed." Ben said.

"You can all go to bed. I'll take care of things here." Sarah said.

"Now, that's the best news I've heard all night." Joe said.

"You sure you don't need anythin', there, Sarah?" Hoss asked.

"I'm alright, Hoss." she said, "Thank you." Ben, Hoss, and Joe went off to bed while Sarah gathered the supplies she would need to treat the wound on Abbie's arm. She started cleaning the wound first. Abbie winced and jerked away.

"Hold still, will you?" Sarah said.

"Sorry." Abbie said, shrugging her shoulders as she smiled at Sarah. Sarah smiled and shook her head as she continued cleaning the wound.

"Alright, this is going to hurt a little. Are you ready?" Sarah said, as she prepared to start stitching up the wound.

"Do it." Abbie said. She winced as Sarah started sewing up the wound, and Adam held onto her hand. Before long, Sarah was finished stitching up the wound.

"There." she said, smiling.

"You really are good at this." Abbie said, looking at the stitched up wound, "Thank you, Sarah."

"You're welcome, Abbie." Sarah said.

"Thank you." Adam told her.

"You're welcome, Adam." Sarah said. She smiled at them before standing and walking towards the stairs.

"Goodnight." she said as she walked up the stairs.

"We'd better get to bed, too." Abbie said, placing a hand on Adam's arm.

"Yeah. Let's go." Adam said. The two of them stood and walked up the stairs and off to bed.

THE END


End file.
